Illuminated instrument mount



eb. 21, 192s.

W. H. SCHULZE ILLUMINATED INSTRUMENT MOUNT original Filed Maron 2Ol 1925 Patented Feb. 21, 1928.'

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM H, SCHULZE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO STEWART-WARNER SPEEDOMETER CORPORATION, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF VIR- GINIA.

ILLUMINATED INSTRUMENT MOUNT.

Application led March 20, 1925, Serial No. 17,011. Renewed July 7, 1927.

The purpose of this invention is to provide an improved construction of an instrument mount particularly designed for carrying a plurality of instruments upon a inotorvehicle provided with means for illuminating the reading faces of the several instruments. It consists in the elements and features of construction shown and described in the claims.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a front elevation of an instruvment mount having instruments mounted therein and embodying this invention for illuminating the instruments.

Figure 2 is a section at the Figure 1.

Figure 3 is Figure l.

The instrument mount ings comprises a forward marginal frame member, 10, and a rear frame member, 11, which are adapted to be secured together by screws distributed at convenient intervals around they periphery, instances being seen at 13, 13, on F igures2 and 3 respectively, said screws taking through lugs, 11a, projecting from the periphery of the rear member, 11, and screwed into the rearwardly projecting peripheral body, 10, of the member, 10. The member, 11, is provided with apertures for accommodating the instruments line 2-2 on a section at the line 3-3 on to be served and through which the reading faces of the instruments may. bevisible from the forward side, said apertures comprising the aperture, 11b, for the combined speedometer andV odometer, 20, the aperture, 11C, for accommodating the lubricant supply indicator and the aperture, 11d, for the gasoline depth gauge, and apertures, not shown, corresponding to 11c and 11d for the clock and ammeter shown in Figure 1. These instruments are presumed to be each complete in itself and adapted to be entered and ,3

fitted in the apertures mentioned provided for them in the mount member, 11, and retained securely in connection with the mount' by any convenient means accordingto the form of the instrument cases, as, by a retaining member, 24, fitted to pass over the rear of the case of the instrument,20, and having lugs, 24s, for securement by the screws, 24", to the back side of the mount member, 11; or by'retaining brackets such as shown at 25 in connection with the instruments, 2l and shown in the drawl 22, in lFigure 3, spanning the rear of said instruments and having lugs, 25, for engagement of screws, 25", for attaching to the rear side of the mount member, 11.- The particular means and mode of holding the Vmember and exterior-ly dimensioned for fitting inside ofthe marginal rearwardly pro- ]ecting iange, 10a, of the forward mount member, 10. The forward face `of said rear member, 11,- within said peripheral flange, 11f,` is recessed or cut back at the upper side 'of said area, forming a. slope seen at 11g in Figures 2- and 3; and said mount member, 11, isprovided at the upper side at aboutl the middle point longitudinally of said member and of said slope, 11g, ywith aI rearwardly projecting hollow boss, 11", Lfor accommodating a lamp socket indicated at 28v as fitted within a bushing, 29, inthe cavity of said hollow boss and carrying a lamp indicated at 30. The cavity of the hollow boss'thus opens atits forward end directly from the foot or most recessed point of the slope, 11g, so that the illuminating zone of the lamp bulb inthe socket in said hollow boss is positioned in the plane4 or zone of the `forward recess or cavity within the encompassing marginal ange, 11', of the said rear mount member, 11. The front mount member, 10,- has at'the upper side midway in its length,`a protru-` sion, 10m, into the otherwise substantially oval opening in said mount member, said` protrusion depending infront of the hollow boss, 11, ofthe rear mount member, 11.

Said forward mount member is rabbeted at the rearside 'around the entire interior margin as seen at the resultmg shoulder, 10P,

in this rabbet there are lodged first a glassin-common, 30, extending over all the instruments carried by the mount, and behind this -la a face plate-in-eommon, 31

space 'from the glass by a cushioning gasket, 32, said I for forming the peripheral flange, 10, and

for registering with the reading faces of the several instruments mounted in lthe rear member, 11, behind said apertures respec-v tively. When'the two members, 10 and 11, are secured together as described, it will be seen that there is formed an inter-space, 35,

' between the forward surface of the rear member, 11, within the marginal flange by which it is clamped by the screws, 13, to

the forward member, and the rear surface of the face plate-in-coi'nmon, 31, which inter-spoace opens into the hollow boss in which the lamp 1s carried, in the plane ofthe illuminating zone of the lamp; and thatv the' recess which produces the slope, 115, in said forward end ofthe cavity of the hol- 7low boss, and thereby from the lamp, to said 35, whereby the light from the inter-space, .be dif lamp may reach and penetrate and fused vthrough the said inter-space in al1- directions so as to illuminate the reading faces of all the instruments.

Awhich is inserted from the forward side in said hollow boss,saidhood having a lateralv aperture 36, positioned in the zone forward of' theforward or outer surface of the mar-` ginal bead, 10", ofthe mount member, 10, said aperture extending around somewhat more than 180 degrees of the circular extent of the hood. This reflector hood is curved as to its interior surface for reflecting light from the lamp out through the aperture, 36,

l' flected may reach and illuminate the entire and the aperture is dimensioned withirespect to the curvature of the reflecting surface of the hood, sothat therays 'of light thus reouter surface ofthe glassin-common and may strikevthe glass at such angles that to a 'large extent they may pass `tlirou h the glass at the apertures of the-facep te-in-common and through'said apertures andreach and illuminate the reading faces -of the instru ments exposedY through common apertures.V

vI claim:f Y

said face plate-in- 1. An instrument mount-'for a motor vehi-I.

i cleandthe like comprising an encompassing marginal frontframe and a back frame member. adapted to be secured together, the back. frame member having nearV one lateral mar-- gin a rearwardly protruding hollow bo' for mounting a lamp socket, an the front frame havinga'protrusii in its plane inner margin with an a rture registering with the cavity of the back frame boss; fa lamp socket mounted inthe back frame :ffmember boss,A and a reflector hood mounted I in the front Vframe aperture, the back fra'me ifea" member having apertures for accommodatingregstering their reading faces exposed at said apertures; a face plate-in-common over allthe instruments occupying the entire area of the front frame opening and spaced away from the face of the back frame which has the instrument accommodating apertures, and a glass-in-com- -mon covering said face plate-in-common, the

mounted in the back member, and the face plate-in-coniinon, for diffusion by back and forthreiection between the facing surfaces of the face plate and back fram'emember, to illuminate the instrument faces.

2. In the construction defined in claim 1,

foregoing, the back frame member-'having its surface facing the face plate-in-common at the area adjacent to the opening into the cavity of the lamp-socket-holding boss sloped back from the general plane of said surface to the entrance to said boss cavity for providing a surface from which light rrays shall be reiected at vwide anglefor impinging on the innersurface of the'face plate-m-common for reflection therefrom toward the in strument faces. i 3'. In the construction defined in claim 1,. foregoing, the reflector hoodbeingprotruded from the plane of the outer surface of the Vfrontl marginal frame member, and open through approximately 180 degrees about the axis of the lamp socket at the side inward with respect to the area of the forward frameopening, and being curved for reflecting light from its inner surface'to spread' broadly over the surface ofthe glass-in-common and toward the instrument face exposed through said glass.v 4.- An instrumentl mount for a motor vehicle` and the like comprising an encompassingv mar al front frame and a back frame mem r adapted to be secured together, the

b ack frame member having near one lateral 2 margin a rearwardly protruding hollow boss for mounting a lamp socket and the front i frame having a'protrusion in its plane from I its inner margin with an aperture register-` ingV with the cavity of .the boss; aflemp` socket mounted in thebossof the rearframe. I member, and a reector hood mounted in the.

-ward with respect to the area of theforward frame opening, the back frame having aperfront frame member, saidhood being roneue-,ver Y I s tures for accommodating refgistering instru surfaces of said glass-in-common and toward mentsv with their reading aees exposed at the instrument faces exposed through said said apertures, a glass-in-oommon mounted glass. A

in the front frame covering the ex' sed In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set 5 faces of al1 the instruments, the re ector my hand this :16 day of March, 1925.

hood being curved. for reeoting lightfrom 4 its inner surface to spread broadly over the WILLIAM H. SCHULZE. 

